Who Has the Most National Championships in College Football?
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Since college football’s inception, Yale has gained the most national titles (18).- However, within the AP Poll Era, Alabama is considered the top winner with 13 titles.
- Ohio State won the most recent title in January 2025, defeating the University of Notre Dame.
- Since 1936, 33 different universities have brought home a national championship in football.[1]
In 1869, across the span of eight days, two football games were played between Princeton and Rutgers, marking the first-ever college football season.[2]
More than 150 years later, college football is one of the most popular sports to watch in the U.S.
However, naming a Division I national champ is complicated. It’s easy for fans to get trapped in long-winded disagreements over who has the most wins. Here is what we know.
Most College Football Championships
When it comes to counting the number of national championships, there are several ways to look at it. But, for the most part, college football fans consider two main classifications: most national championships collected since the sport’s inception and most championships since 1936, or the AP Poll era.
Since the Beginning
- Yale University has received the most national titles in all of college football history, winning 18 since their first in 1874. Their most recent win was nearly a century ago in 1927.
- Out of the top 10 college football teams with the most national championships, three are Ivy League members.
- The top 10 teams account for two-thirds of all national titles won in college football.
- Since 1869, only 47 different teams have been crowned as national champions.Note Reference [1]
From 1936 On
Many college football fans consider the start of the AP Poll era to be the true beginning of college football.
Since the AP Poll made its debut, Alabama has won the most national championships, with 13 titles.
Notre Dame and Ohio State — who competed in the 2024 championship game — are tied in second for number of titles, with nine each.Note Reference [1]
Other Universities Who Have Won A Championship Since 1936
Beyond the top recipients, plenty of other programs have won a national title.
Two-Time College Football Champions
- Pitt: 1936 and 1976
- Penn State: 1982 and 1986
- Army: 1944 and 1945
- Tennessee: 1951 and 1998
- Auburn: 1957 and 2010
One-Time College Football Champions
- Syracuse: 1959
- Georgia Tech: 1990
- TCU: 1938
- Maryland: 1953
- Iowa: 1958
- BYU: 1984
- UCLA: 1954
- Washington: 1991
- Colorado, 1990
- Ole Miss: 1960
- Arkansas: 1964
- Texas A&M: 1939
Did You Know…
Believe it or not, college football did not always end in a postseason.
Between 1936 and 1950, national champions were decided by the Associated Press (AP) Poll, which ranked the top 25 teams from a collection of votes by sports journalists and editors.Note Reference [2]
In 1950, a separate ranking system was developed by all head coaches in the NCAA, known as the Coaches Poll. In 1954, the two polls split for the first time: AP selected Ohio State as the national champion, while the Coaches Poll decided on UCLA.Note Reference [2]
Hence, the fan frustration. In 1998 two teams faced off in a championship match for the first time. Known as the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), it relied on rankings from both AP and Coaches Polls.Note Reference [2]
This methodology lasted until 2014, when the outcry for a multi-team playoff series grew to offset flaws in the ranking systems. Since then, the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee hand-selects four teams to compete for the title and a slew of other teams to compete in Bowl games.Note Reference [2]